Team Stats

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Free Position Shots

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Senior Hannah Lemek (Bristol, Conn.) posted a four-goal game, but the University of Saint Joseph fell to the visiting Simmons College Sharks, 15-5, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse match on a brisk Tuesday night under the lights on Arute Field. The four-goal game by Lemek marks the third straight game that the senior has recorded a hat-trick for the Blue Jays. USJ will be back in action next on Thursday with a non-conference game at Newbury beginning at 3:00 p.m.

The Sharks jumped right out to an early lead and never looked back scoring the first six goals of the game to take a commanding 6-0 lead halfway through the first period. Senior Kasey Fries (Bridgewater, Mass.) netted a pair of goals to fuel the run while junior Mallory Cottam (Hope, R.I.) scored one and assisted on another.

Lemek would then single handily take over the game for the ensuing four minutes and scored three straight goals to pull USJ within 6-3 of the Sharks. She got the Blue Jays on the board first with 11:40 remaining until halftime before scoring 38 seconds later with a highlight reel goal, shooting backward just outside the crease to beat the Simmons goalkeeper and make it 6-3. Lemek then concluded her first-half hat-trick with 8:06 to play before the intermission to cut the deficit in half and make it 6-3.

Fries ended Lemek's scoring run with her third goal of the game to push Simmons' lead to 7-3 before Lemek struck once again with 4:50 left before halftime to account for a 7-4 score at the break.

The second half was all Sharks though as they outscored the Blue Jays 8-1 in the half to account for the 15-5 final margin. As they did to start the game, the Sharks scored six unanswered goals to begin play and build an insurmountable 13-4 advantage. Fries once again was the driving force with two more goals to give her five for the game.

Sophomore Charlotte Eberhardt (Thomaston, Conn.) accounted for the lone second-half goal for the Blue Jays as she found the back of the net with 19:11 left in regulation to make it 13-5 in favor of the visitors. The Sharks would go on to control most of the possession for the remainder of the game and scored twice more to walk away with the 15-5 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Sharks outshot the Blue Jays 43-15 in the contest including 33-11 in shots on goal.

Fries was the leading scorer in the game and finished with five goals and an assist for Simmons. She placed 10 of her 11 shots on target and also picked up four ground balls.

Lemek netted four goals to lead the way for the Blue Jays as she has now scored 12 goals over her last three games. She also recorded a team-best five draw controls.

Eberhardt and freshman Raelynn Voislow (Windsor Locks, Conn.) each picked up five ground balls for USJ, but the Blue Jays were edged in that category 28-20.

Senior Emily Bourassa (Bristol, Conn.) made a season-high 18 saves between the pipes for USJ, including 10 in the first half, but was dealt the loss to drop to 2-8 on the season.

Freshman Cat Cross (Beverly, Mass.) picked up the win for the Sharks to improve to 6-5 and made three saves over the first 30 minutes of action before being relieved in the second half.

UP NEXT

The USJ women's lacrosse team will return to the field next for its final non-conference game of the season on Thursday at Newbury. First draw is slated for 3:00 p.m. at Hormel Stadium. Simmons is back in action on Saturday in a GNAC clash against Regis (Mass.) at home beginning at 11:00 a.m.